Kate + Sam's intimate Toowoomba wedding

How did you meet your partner? Sam and I first met when we were in grade 8, Sam had moved to Monto from Brisbane. Our friendship grew from that point all the way through high school until grade 12 when we noticed each other as more than a friend. However, he was the last person I thought I would want to date and I actually avoided those feelings, to begin with. He was the popular yet annoying class clown, the party animal and my biggest rival for the highest grade in BCT (I beat him by the way, he hates that!). But he persisted and they say that persistence pays off. We officially started dating on the night of our high school graduation (20/11/2009) and haven’t looked back since. Our wedding marked our 7th anniversary.

How long have you been together? A little over 7 years now.

Do you have a proposal story? Yes! New Year’s Eve 2015/2016. We went for a holiday to Hong Kong over Christmas and headed over to Macau for NYE. We had a nice dinner, with a live band and a few drinks and headed outside just before midnight to watch the fireworks, where there was a giant NYE party happening. Sam led the way as he knew the exact spot that he wanted to be in. The crowd was so huge that we only just made it to ‘our spot’ in time for the countdown. We did the countdown to midnight, kissed, and then Sam pulled out the ring box and asked me to marry him on the side of the lagoon. I (of course) said yes but I felt so sorry for him after that because we were standing there waiting for the fireworks to happen and they never did! It’s the idea that counts! We headed back inside, thought it might be a lucky night so threw some money on the roulette table and lost the lot! Whoops.

What made you choose there? Since I was little I was wanted to be married underneath a huge tree. It also had a relaxed vibe to it, which is what we wanted our wedding day to be – as well as fun. Having the ceremony and reception in the one place was also beneficial for everyone! Both the grounds and the homestead are beautiful, we would be crazy not to take advantage of both.

How did you find it? Facebook. A few years ago I saw a sponsored ad for Gabbinbar Homestead and clicked the link just to see where it was located. I was so surprised to learn that it was located in Toowoomba, where we were living at the time, and both Sam and I knew that it was the perfect location for us. It still had a country vibe to it but it was still so classy and elegant.

How was the weather on the day? A beautiful, sunny day! It was warm but it was also quite windy which helped cool things down, especially during the ceremony as it was outdoors.

Was there a reason you decided to get married on this date? Yes, It was our 7th year anniversary. It also coincided with a Sunday, which also helped bring a more relaxed vibe to the day.

What made you decide to come into Karen Willis Holmes? I had been following a few different bridal boutiques/designers on Instagram to get a feel of the kind of the dress that I wanted. I always kept coming back to the Karen Willis Holmes designs though. They’re stunning, minimalistic, have simple/flattering lines, with the right amount of wow factor.

Where have you seen our gowns (if at all) before? Instagram

How many gowns did you try? 5 in total I believe – the 'Caitlyn' gown was the last that I tried on. As soon as I did though I knew it was the one.

Where did you purchase your gown from (which store or stockist)? Karen Willis Holmes, Paddington, Brisbane

What did you especially like about your gown? I loved that it was classy and modern, yet elegant. I actually didn’t pick that particular dress out to try on originally as I never thought I would do the style ‘justice’ but turns out that the ladies at KWH know what they’re talking about when they suggested that I tried it on!

What accessories did you choose to finish your gown and also for those in your bridal party? I wore Samantha Wills 'You’re all I see cuff' earring, a bracelet given to me by my grandmother on the day, and a necklace given to me by Sam as a gift on the day (bracelet and necklace were both impromptu accessories I added last minute!). My Bridesmaids wore Fletcher and Grace Earrings and the Samantha Wills 'Bardot' ring.

Groom/Groomsmen wore personalized cuff links from 'Hello we make stuff’ Sam also wore his families Scottish tartan as his pocket square.

Where did you get your shoes from?Charlotte Mills‘Belle’ (purchased from The White Collection)

Did you wear a veil/headpiece? Yes, a single tier tulle Karen Willis Holmes veil. I also had a floral head-piece put in for the reception once the veil was out.

Other

What advice would you give brides organizing their wedding? It goes so fast on the day that you really need to enjoy the planning process (and get a videographer!). You put so much effort in for one day and it’s over in the blink of an eye. Also, if possible, hire a planner/stylist/crafty friend to set-up for you on the day. It makes it so much more enjoyable and you’ll really appreciate any extra dollars you spend when you look back on it. It’s the one day that you don’t want to look back and cringe at how stressed you were.

What advice would you give brides searching for their wedding gown? Try on dresses that you would never imagine wearing, you may surprise yourself.

Something Old? Sam’s nanna kindly made/sewed my garter for me. I had her sew my late grandmother’s ring to the front of the garter. The ring had a sapphire stone so that also covered my something blue.

Something New? My dress and shoes!

Something Borrowed? I didn’t have anything borrowed that I wore, but a family member lent us their ring pillow that both they and their son were married with. It was sewn from her mother’s wedding gown! That pillow certainly has some history now.

Suppliers

Photographer –Edwina Robertson Photography. What can I say other than Eddy is amazing at what she does. I am blown away by the creativity and originality of the photo’s that we received and she was down-right fun to be around on the day. By the end of the night, you could have mistaken her as one of our guests.

Florist – Blue Willow Weddings did all of our floral components apart from the bridal party requirements (bouquets, etc.). Annie was my life-line from pretty much day dot. She took the vague brief that I gave her and turned it into something better than I could have ever imagined! She helped with everything from hiring and styling, to helping choose stationery and timber stain colours, to general wedding day advice. She also answered my million (no exaggeration!) emails quickly, efficiently and without complaint (what a champ!). I cannot express enough how perfect and stress-free everything was on and before our wedding day, and I have no doubt that this is because of Annie and her incredible team. So many of our guests, including a retired wedding planner, stated that the attention to detail was second to none! She made planning the biggest day of your life easy! Echo & Indigo did all of our bouquets, headpieces, boutonnieres, etc. I gave Em a very vague brief of what I wanted, a bouquet big and beautiful, messy yet classy and she delivered! Everyone kept commenting on our bouquets and were so impressed with how they were arranged.

Videographer –Wood & Willow. We didn’t really have a budget originally for videography however, we agreed that we really needed someone to capture all the love and emotion of the day that we didn’t get to experience or had forgotten. It was the best decision! And the ladies at Wood & Willow did an incredible job! See Kate and Sam's video here.

Music –Golden Child Entertainment. A band that cares! Jock and Trent communicated with us so much during the lead-up from song suggestions, to general advice for MC duties. They judged our guests extremely well and played the best dance music all night long! It was so much more fun dancing with our prop box! It helped everyone loosen up and really enjoy themselves.

First Dance – More in love with you – Jason Reeves

MC – Andrew Hallas (also a groomsman). Andrew was really nervous but absolutely nailed his MC duties. It was also easier than I imagined having him doing both roles.

Celebrant – Jarrad Bayliss. Jarrad was recommended to us by our photographer and after a 5 minute phone call I knew he was the perfect fit for our wedding day, so much so that I booked him in without consulting Sam first! Not to worry though, because from our first Skype meeting Sam was just as assured as I was that Jarrad would create a balanced ceremony that reflected us as a couple and we weren't disappointed! Jarrad made our special day funny, mesmerising, personal, with just the right amount of seriousness. Our ceremony was our favourite part of the day and that's hands down because of Jarrad!

Stationery –White Ink Design Co. Teneale stuck with me through so many changes and for that I am so thankful! I finally made up my mind in the end and all of our stationery reflected the day perfectly.

Bombonieres – We had little scratch-it’s as our bombonieres as that is our usual Sunday tradition. Elly Hartly Designs created the little cards that we had them in and they were very well received. Although everyone is keeping quiet as to whether they won anything or not!

Hair –Katrina Devlin Hairstylist. Kat can make something out of nothing! She’s a hair genius and I loved the style that she suggested we go for. I don’t normally wear my hair up but am so glad that I did as it complimented my dress beautifully.

Make-Up –Ellie-Bee Bride (Luminosa Love). Make-up was something that I was concerned about leading up to the day, I didn’t want to look like a Barbie doll but I also wanted to look beautiful and natural. Ellie nailed it! I didn’t feel as though I was wearing too much make-up but felt confident at the same time.